title: Cancer pathology in the year 2000.
abstract: The last one hundred and fifty years has produced the mature and sophisticated discipline of histopathology, yet still leaves the diagnosis of human cancer, by the best available technique, as more art than science. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) ex vivo identifies the chemical markers of established pathobiological disorders within excised biopsies and fine needle aspirates, in particular, those associated with the development and progression of malignant disease. Alterations to cellular chemistry monitored by 1H MRS allows distinction between invasive and pre-invasive lesions of the uterine cervix, and separate truly benign follicular neoplasms from follicular carcinomas on analysis of fine needle aspirates containing as few as 10(6) cells. 1H chemical shift imaging (CSI) determines the spatial location of these chemical changes and provides insight into the chemistry of neoplastic transformation. It is our hypothesis that, by the year 2000, CSI will aid image guided biopsy techniques and that correlation of biopsy histology with in vivo localised 1H MRS data will: (a) lead to improved assessment of the extent of malignant disease and (b) establish the sensitivity and specificity of in vivo 1H MRS for the simultaneous determination of the size, location and neoplastic potential of a tumour mass.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Mountford
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doran
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lean
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular / Q000379:methods